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Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha
Akhil Bhārat Hindū Mahāsabhā is a Hindu Nationalist Political organization, was originally founded in 1915 to counter the Muslim League and the so called secular Indian National Congress. Soon after India's Independence, and the subsequent assassination of Gandhi, a good number of Hindu Mahasabhaites joined Bharatiya Jana Sangh under the leadership of S.P. Mukherjee, who had left Hindu Mahasabha and joined hands with the RSS to float a political party under the control and supervision of RSS. Mukherjee had left Mahasabha after his proposal to allow Muslims to gain membership was turned down by the followers of V.D. Savarkar. The relationship between Savarkar's Mahasabha and RSS was strained mainly because the then chief of RSS, M.S. Golwalkar, felt overshadowed by the influence of Savarkar over the Hindu populace. Officially Mahasabha is still a distinct political entity but its election symbol has been withheld as it has not been getting enough votes. So now the party fights elections on different symbols in different constituencies. Although it remained a relatively small political party, the Mahasabha's members at various times included pre-eminent Indian political leaders such as Madan Mohan Malaviya, founder of the Benaras Hindu University; Dr. K. B. Hedgewar, founder of the Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the former chief minister of the Central Provinces and Berar; Syama Prasad Mookerjee of Bengal, who served as Central Minister in Nehru's cabinet; and Narayan Bhaskar Khare, who served as the Mahasabha's president from 1949 to 1951.1 The Mahasabha's influence was hindered by its opposition to the widely-popular civil disobedience campaigns led by the Congress Party to achieve Indian independence from British rule. The restrictions imposed by the British authorities on the political activities of its leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar also impaired its development. Due to the rise of the Muslim League's campaign for a separate Muslim state of Pakistan and growing acrimony between Hindus and Muslims, the Mahasabha increasingly became home to radical Hindu activists. With the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Savarkar and the Mahasabha laid blame on the Congress leaders, especially Mahatma Gandhi, for appeasing the Muslims and making too many concessions it considered detrimental to Hindu interests. On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse. Subsequent police investigations revealed that Godse and his confederates were members of the Hindu Mahasabha, and close confidants of Savarkar. Although Savarkar himself was acquitted of involvement by the courts, the conviction of the rest led to a major popular backlash against the Hindu Mahasabha. A good number of Hindu Mahasabhaites joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, founded in 1951 under the leadership of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who had joined with the RSS. Mookerjee had left Mahasabha after his proposal to allow Muslims to gain membership was turned down by Savarkar. In 1980, the BJS transformed into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is today India's largest party aside from the Congress. The Hindu Mahasabha continued to survive on the fringes of Indian politics. Bishan Chandra Seth of Shahjahanpur was elected twice to the Indian Parliament from [Etah and was one of the longest serving parliamentarians from Hindu Mahasabha. Another long-serving parliamentarian from Sabha was Mahant Avaindnath. Dr. Santosh Rai President- Reception Committee “AKHIL BHARAT HINDU MAHASABHA” Reception Committee Office:- F-67, 2nd Floor,Bhagat Singh Market,New Delhi-110001 Mo. No. +91-9999500398, Ph.+91-11-32928342,Fax.+91-11-47340165 E-mail: info@hindumahasabha.net Category:Political parties in India Category:Hindu movements and organizations Category:Political parties established in 1915